Girl
Girl is Maren Morris's second studio album that was released on March 8, 2019 through Columbia Nashville. Release & Promotion The album's lead single "Girl" was released on January 18, 2019 and was described as "an upbeat, optimistic single with a strutting, indie-rock guitar sound." The first promotional single "Common" features singer Brandi Carlile and was released on February 8, 2019. "The Bones" followed on February 22, 2019 and was the last song to be released before the album In support of the album, Morris embarked on "Girl: The World Tour", which began on March 9, 2019 and will conclude on August 23, 2019. Tracklisting #GIRL #The Feels #All My Favorite People (featuring Brothers Osborne) #A Song for Everything #Common (featuring Brandi Carlile) #Flavor #Make Out With Me #Gold Love #Great Ones #RSVP #To Hell & Back #The Bones #Good Woman #Shade Commercial Performance "Girl" debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 with 46,000 album-equivalent units, of which 25,000 were pure album sales, making it Morris' second US top-five album. The album broke the record for the largest streaming week ever for a country studio album by a woman, with approximately 24 million streams in its first week. As of April 2019, the album has sold 37,600 copies in the United States. Critical Reception "Girl" received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 66, based on 8 reviews. Melissa Novacaska from Exclaim! said, "What's impressive about Girl though is how strong Morris's vocals have grown, along with the maturity and uniqueness of each song. It's clear that Girl isn't a sophomore slump, but rather an album worth investing in." AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album "bright, shiny, and big, an album designed to appeal to any imaginable audience", noting how Morris goes for a "pan-cultural pop" soundscape that draws from different genres and delivers straightforward messages that's backed by equally strong production. Erlewine concluded by finding criticism in the album's songwriting following that musical direction, "By foregrounding her lyrical intent and offering no room for interpretation, Morris winds up with songs that feel less imaginative than their execution, a flaw that is by no means fatal but does mean that Girl plays on a smaller scale than intended." Rolling Stone editor Rob Sheffield felt that fans of Morris's "scrappy attitude on Hero" will be oft-put by the "happy midtempo love songs" found in the album's second half but said that tracks like "All My Favorite People", "Flavor" and "Make Out with Me" will satisfy them, concluding that, "She might be on her best behavior on this LP, but the liveliest moments come when she gets out of line." Laura Snapes of The Guardian felt the album goes for ''"neither gutsy grandstanding nor Vegas-adjacent pop" ''throughout its track listing, criticizing the ''"biographical sincerity ("Great Ones", "Gold Love", "Make Out with Me")" for lacking conviction and the misuse of Morris's "compellingly hardbitten voice" ''on songs that don't involve fractured romances, saying that Morris should take inspiration from fellow country artist Kacey Musgraves when recording her third album. Category:Albums